Fool For You
by lovelikeher
Summary: It's been over a year since Jay and Abi went their separate ways. Now that they're both single again, will they be able to find their way back to each other?
1. Chapter 1

Abi sighed as she aimlessly flicked through the TV channels. She was just bored and alone, since Fatboy had gone to the Vic and her Grandma Dot had gone over to Ronnie's to babysit Amy and baby Matthew. So, she was left on on her own. By choice, of course. Fatboy had asked her to go to the pub with him, and Grandma had invited her to help babysit, but she just couldn't face it. She just wanted a quiet night in watching rubbish TV. Of course, there was a good chance that at least one of the Mitchells would be at the pub and she didn't want to face any of them. Her and Ben had split up three days ago, after she'd confronted him about his relationship with Paul Coker. She'd seen them talking (see, _flirting_ ) and decided enough was enough. She wasn't stupid, and she'd let herself fall for his lies for long enough. So she's stormed straight back to the Mitchell househould, packed her stuff and left before anyone could notice. Ben came over to Dot's that night to see what was going on, and even though he tried to convince her she was just paranoid, he eventually admitted the affair. She'd been furious, at herself mostly for being so stupid, but more than anything she was hurt. Hurt that after years of being nothing but kind to him, he would do that to her. A part of her felt sorry for him, but another part of her never wanted to see his face ever again. Actually, no, **_that_ ** part of her wanted to smash his stupid little face in.

She'd taken what she could when she'd left the Mitchells. She'd been in a rush trying to get out of there before anyone came home, so she didn't manage to grab all of her stuff. Fatboy had actually offered to go get her stuff for her, but she could fight her own battles. She wasn't going to hide away from her problems this time. At least, _eventually_ , she would stop hiding away from her problems.

For now, she was okay with hiding. It had only been three days, afterall. Three days since her entire life had been flipped upside down - _again_. She thought maybe she should have been used to that by now, the amount of heartbreaking revelations she'd had to deal with over the years. But she wasn't heartbroken by what Ben had done. She was hurt that the boy she once called her best friend would set out to purposely use her feelings to his advantage, but more than anything she just felt stupid. She never should have looked twice at Ben in a romantic way, and she knew deep down that she never would have if she hadn't felt so down about Jay. After their break up over a year ago, she'd been in an awful place, especially after the... _incident_ with poor Tramp and her decision to not go to university. She'd felt like her life wasn't even recognizable anymore, like she herself wasn't herself anymore, and suddenly her childhood best friend was back. He was there for her and she'd allowed herself to go there, simply because it made her feel better, even if it was all fake. She just didn't want to be alone. Ben was familiar, he'd always just liked her for who she was - or who she had been once upon a time, at least. She wasn't sure who that girl was anymore.

It was just as she poured herself another vodka coke (she might have popped out to the Minute Mart to get alcohol as soon as Dot left, sue her) that there was a knock on the front door. She sighed. If Fatboy had forgotten his keys _again_ , she was going to slap him. Abi stood up from the sofa and went to answer it, not caring that she was in her jogging bottoms and a thin sleeveless top with no make-up on and her blonde locks tied up in a messy bun. The last person she was expecting to see on the other side was her ex boyfriend.

"Jay," she said with a confused frown, eyeing the brown box in his hands. "What are you doing here?"

"I, uh, brought you the rest of your things," Jay replied with a soft smile. Damn that smile. She never could resist it. "I just wanted you to bring them over and…. yeah."

"Oh…." she breathed, quiet for a few moments as their eyes met. She quickly snapped herself out of it and took the box out of his hands. "That's really sweet of you, thank you."

"Yeah, it's alright. No need to thank me," he shrugged, watching her place the box on the bottom of the stairs. "Are you...Are you doing okay?"

"Uh.." She muttered, as she turned back to look at him. Her arms folded across her chest protectively, and she plastered on her best fake smile. "Yeah, I'm good thanks. I'm great."

"Really?" He asked, eyebrows raised questioningly. He didn't believe for a single second that she was okay. How could she be?

"Well I'm not exactly throwing myself a 'my gay boyfriend's been sleeping with another bloke for months' party, Jay, _no_ ," she laughed, rolling her eyes. "But I'm fine. I promise."

"Okay, fine, point taken," he chuckled, raising his hands in a mock surrender. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I thought you just wanted to give me my stuff?" She questioned teasingly, biting back a smirk.

"Yeah, well, you always said I needed to work on my multitasking skills so don't start moaning about it now," he teased, making them both laugh again. There was silence, a comfortable silence, for a few moments.

"Do you want to come in?" She asked gently a few seconds later.

Jay simply smiled as he stepped inside, and she shut the door behind him before the two of them walked into the living room. "Do you want a drink? I've got vodka, or I think there's beer in the fridge, Fats won't mind?"

"Yeah please, beer would be great," he replied, observing the quiet house. "Where is everyone?"

"Grandma Dot's babysitting for Ronnie, and Fatboy's gone to the Vic," she explained, walking through to the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, our lot's over there too," Jay replied as he followed her. "I take it that's why you're not there?"

"Yeah.." she answered awkwardly, as she took a beer out of the fridge and handed it to him. "I thought Ben might be there…"

"Well that pub is crawling with Mitchells, so I think you made the right decision," he teased, as he took the beer off her and thanked her.

"What, your entire family's there?" She asked, to which Jay nodded in response. "Why didn't you go?"

"I had somewhere else to be," he shrugged, very obviously implying that 'somewhere' was there with her.

Abi took a deep breath, trying not to look him in the eye. She'd just split up with Ben, for crying out loud. She wasn't going to be one of those girls that went crawling back to their exes straight away, especially not after just ending it with a guy he considered a brother. She didn't even know if he wanted that. She didn't think he did, like _at all_ , so she wasn't going to fall for him all over again just to have her heart broken again. She walked past him, heading for the living room, and Jay quickly followed her.

A few more drinks later, and they were both more than a little bit on the tipsy side. Her more than him, probably because she was drinking quicker and he could handle it more than she could. She didn't drink much at all, so when she did, it affected her fairly quickly. Which was something Jay'd always found quite amusing, but she insisted that he was only _so much better_ at holding his alcohol because he drunk far too much of it, too often. Not because she was a complete and utter lightweight. **_Obviously_**.

They were both laughing at something, Abi wasn't even sure what, when their laughter died down and they both went quiet.

"I miss you," Jay said out of nowhere, causing Abi to glance up at him. "I'm sorry, that was really forward but….Well, I don't have much to lose so I'm just going to say it. I really miss you."

"I only moved out last week," Abi teased awkwardly, trying to make a joke. What could she say? The booze was going to her head.

"You know what I mean," Jay scoffed. "I miss us. How we used to be. I miss just being with you because that is the only thing that has ever felt right to me, Abs."

"Jay, we were both different people back then," Abi sighed after a few moments of silence. "I'm not the same person I was when we starting seeing each other, and neither are you."

"And that's a bad thing?" Jay questioned, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"Well, not necessarily.." Abi shrugged. "You're the one who said it was time to grow up. When we split up at the wedding, that's what you told me - and you were right. We've both moved on, Jay, that's not a bad thing."

"Don't you miss it, though?" Jay asked thoughtfully, shifting closer to her. "It used to be so easy, Abs."

"Did it?" Abi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Didn't it?" Jay questioned, slightly taken aback.

"Jay, we broke up all the time," Abi laughed, shaking her head.

"Yeah, at first," Jay shrugged. "Abs, you were the most important thing in my life."

"Until my best friend was," Abi argued, before clenching her eyes shut when she actually heard the words coming out of her mouth. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Jay shook his head, reaching for her hand. "You do know how much I love you, don't you?"

" ** _Loved_** , Jay," Abi laughed nervously, looking down at her lap. "Past tense. You **_loved_ ** me."

"No," Jay corrected, bringing his hand up to gently lift her chin so that she was forced to glance up at him. Their eyes met intensely, and Jay didn't miss a beat before telling her what he'd longed to say for months. "I love you."

"Jay…" Abi sucked a breath in, but she didn't have a chance to say anything before his lips were on hers. Suddenly all of those feelings for him that she thought she'd buried a long time ago, came flooding back. It felt so right.

Jay swore time stood still for the few seconds that they were kissing. It was as if his entire life was falling back into place, as cheesy as that was. It might have just been a kiss, but it was indescribable. It was filled with passion, and a subtle desperation that they each had for the other. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her, he could tell that from the way she kissed him back.

He forced himself to pull away from her - barely. He was still close enough to feel her warm breath against his lips, her forehead pressed against his as they both breathed heavily. Neither of them said a word, just taking each other in all over again. Abi placed her hand against his chest, bunching her fingers into a fist around his shirt to pull him closer to her. Just like that, they were kissing again. The need for each other was much more open this time, as her free hand tangled in his hair and both his hands moved to her hips.

Their needy, passionate kissing went on for a few more minutes. Jay was now on top of her, with both of her legs hooked up around his waist. They were both completely lost in one another, as Jay's hand slipped under her shirt. Suddenly, as if the gesture had awoken something within her, her hand was back on his chest - this time pushing him away.

"No, wait, we can't do this," she breathed heavily, not meeting his eyes.

"What?" He asked, frowning as she pushed him back further so that she could move. He watched her in confusion as she sat up and started fixing her clothes. "Abs.."

"Don't, Jay," She interrupted, still not looking at him. "Please don't."

"What's the matter?" He asked gently, pushing himself forward so that he was sat next to her on the edge of the sofa. "I'm sorry, that was too much-"

"- Yeah, it was," Abi interrupted him again, finally turning her head to meet his eyes. "We're never going there again. You know that, right?"

"What?" Jay questioned. "I thought you wanted this."

"Well, I don't," Abi said adamantly, though it was clear to Jay that it was a lie.

"You certainly weren't saying that two minutes ago," Jay scoffed.

"I got caught up in the moment, that's all," Abi shrugged. "You took me by surprise."

"You trying to convince me or you?" Jay asked challengingly, raising an eyebrow. When she didn't say anything, just stared at him as she temptingly bit her lip, Jay laughed. "Abi, you want this as much as I do. Why can't you admit that?"

"Are you still in love with Lola?" She asked, taking Jay by surprise.

"No," he answered, not a second later. It wasn't as if he had to think about it; he already knew the answer, just like he had for months. "I was never in love with her. I thought I was, but I know now that it never went that far. It was never like the way I felt about you."

Abi didn't look convinced, causing Jay to sigh.

"I love you," Jay repeated. "I've only ever loved you"

"This doesn't mean anything," Abi replied after seemingly considering it for a second. "You understand me?"

He was just about to question her about what she meant, but he didn't get a chance as her lips were crashing onto his once more.

* * *

"That was…" Jay sighed, before turning to Abi with a smirk. "That was amazing."

"Yeah," Abi laughed. "Yeah, it was."

They were both laying in Abi's bed, with nothing but a thin sheet covering their bodies. After so long apart, they were both more than happy to just lay there with one another. It was quiet for a few seconds, before Jay noticed Abi had that look on her face. She was laying on her back with her hands placed on top of the sheet covering her body, and she was staring into space. She was thinking about something, he could tell. Jay turned onto his side so that he was facing her, and reached out for her hand.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked softly, as he intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Nothing," she shrugged, smiling - almost sadly - as she watched him intertwine their fingers.

"No, come on, tell me," Jay insisted with a playful laugh. "You can't keep things from me, Abs, I know you too well."

"Maybe that's the problem," Abi sighed. She pushed him away as she clutched the sheet to her chest and sat up, flinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"Wait, what?" Jay asked, shaking his head as he watched her reach for her underwear. "Abi, I thought-"

"Thought what?" Abi questioned, as she did up her bra and then pulled up her knickers. "That I'd just fall for this all over again, as if nothing ever happened?"

"No, but.." Jay huffed as he sat up. "Come on, you can't seriously tell me that you don't want to give us another go. Not after what just happened."

"What just happened shouldn't have happened," Abi sighed as she stood there in nothing but her lacy underwear, grabbing a pair of leggings to quickly cover herself up. Not that there was much point, considering he'd seen every part of her there was to see. "I'm sorry."

"You really regret it?" Jay asked, feeling his heart sink. When she didn't answer him, he climbed out of bed and reached for his boxers. "I can't believe you sometimes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We just slept together, Abi, and you're already thinking about anything and everything that could possibly go wrong!"

"Can you blame me?" Abi asked, now stood in her leggings and bra. "After everything, can you really blame me for not wanting to back there again?"

"I thought you were over it, I thought we'd both moved on," Jay argued, doing up his jeans.

"Yes, exactly, we both moved on!" Abi yelled. "I'm trying to move on and you're just trying to entertain yourself now that Lola's decided she doesn't want you anymore!"

"That's not fair, Abs," Jay said after a few seconds.

"I'm sorry," She sighed, covering her face with her hands. "I'm sorry, okay, but we both know it's true."

"No, it's not," Jay said. "I want you, Abi. I want you back, because I know that I messed up something amazing when we ended things."

"We didn't end things, you ended things," Abi said, willing herself not to cry.

"And I am so, so, sorry," Jay apologized, quickly walking around the bed so that he was stood in front of her. "Please, just give me a chance to put it right."

"I think you should leave now," Abi said, covering her chest best she could with her arms and looking away. "Seriously, Jay, Grandma Dot could be back soon."

"Fine," Jay gave in after a few moments. "But I'm not going to give up, Abs. You want this as much as I do, tonight just proved that. I'm not giving up on us, not again."

Abi didn't say anything. She couldn't say anything. As much as she wanted nothing more than to be with him again, she just couldn't risk getting hurt again. She didn't know if she could handle that again.

"I think your shirt's on the sofa," she spoke gently, watching as he looked around the room.

"Right. Thanks," Jay said, glancing over his shoulder at her. Their eyes connected for a brief moment before he turned around and left, shutting her bedroom door after her. What had she done?

* * *

So, I'm back with a new Jabi story because I can't get enough of these two. Hope you guys like it so far! I'm not planning on this being a long story (definitely not as long as Baby Blues, anyway) but we'll see. Faves, follows and especially reviews are very appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, all Abi could think about was the previous night's events. She actually couldn't even believe that it had happened. The idea of Jay still wanting her, even after everything that had happened over the past year…It gave her butterflies, it honestly did. She wouldn't deny it - she _couldn't_ \- even though she knew how pathetic that was. He'd hurt her - he'd really, _**really**_ , hurt her. Losing him had almost killed her, yet she still wanted him more than she'd ever wanted anyone. No matter what he'd done, she still loved him. She would always love him, she knew that, and he probably knew that too. Well, if he hadn't known it before, he certainly did after last night. How could she have been so stupid? She should never had let herself go there with him, not again. As much as she loved him, she had to look out for herself now, put herself first for a change. From now on, it was head over heart. It had to be that way, because she didn't think she could take any more heartbreak - and that's all he would bring her. Heartbreak.

Last night had been a one off. An amazing, beautiful, **_amazing_ ** one off. As cheesy as it sounded, being with him like that made her feel like she was home. It was like she was whole again when she was with him. He completed her, in every single sense of the word. The sex itself wasn't bad, either. Last night had been something else completely, actually. Maybe it was because it had been so long and they'd both really wanted - needed \- each other. Or maybe it was because it was so damn passionate that she could barely think straight. Or _maybe_ it was just the way he made her feel - beautiful, and sexy, and **_wanted_**. God, did he prove how much he wanted her. It was pretty safe to say that he got the hint about how much she wanted him too, though. Because she had made it pretty damn obvious when she was ripping his clothes off and writhing beneath him, no matter what she said when all was said and done.

She'd had to say it though. As much as she'd wanted to just lay there with him and pretend the last year had never happened, she couldn't. She'd spent her entire relationship with Ben pretending that she didn't know the truth about him. For once in her life, she needed to do the mature thing. Her and Jay had broken up for a reason, she couldn't just forget that. She'd never forget the way she felt when Ben told her Jay was in love with her best friend, or the way she felt when Jay didn't deny it and she was forced to realize it was true. Every single insecurity, every ounce of jealousy and doubt within her, had all come to the surface that day. It was those emotions, mixed with the large amount of champagne she'd consumed during that fateful day, that led to poor Tramp's death. She'd let her emotions get the better of her when she got into that car, and she promised herself she would never do it again. That hadn't lasted long, had it? Just a few weeks later and she'd been letting Ben manipulate her stupid, misled feelings for him for his own selfish gain. Now, she'd learned her lesson and she wasn't about to let Jay back into her heart just for him to trample all over it again when he decided he didn't want her anymore. What happened when Lola got bored of Dexter's antics and decided she needed good, reliable Jay to be a father to little Lexi again?

It was complicated, to say the least. Now she knew she would have to talk to Jay, to set the record straight and make sure they were both on the same page. She wasn't looking forward to telling him that they were over for good, because all he would have to do was touch her and she'd melt in the palm of his hand. It was genuinely pathetic and she hated herself for it. But, she had to find a way to be strong now. She had to promise herself that she would, for once in her life, be strong and make a sensible decision.

She just didn't know whether or not Jay would accept that. He'd seemed pretty determined to win her back last night - and he might have temporarily succeeded, but it wasn't going to go any further. All she had to do was make sure that he knew that.

What would she say to him? Oh yeah, the sex yesterday was completely mind blowing but I don't want to be in a relationship with you? Well, that was a lie. She did want a relationship with him, but she also didn't want to get hurt, so she wasn't going to risk it. Abi knew that she'd see straight through her, whatever she said.

She was snapped out of her train of thought when her phone buzzed on the sofa arm besides her. She sighed, picking up the phone and seeing it was a text from Jay. He'd been texting her all day, and she had at least eight missed calls from him. But she'd been distracting herself, and trying not to answer. If he wanted her as badly as he made out yesterday, he could work for it.

 _Can we talk? Please? xx_

Abi ran a hand over her face as she let out a groan. She guessed it was better to just get this over and done with now, whilst the house was empty. Actually, having the house to themselves didn't sound so bad… **_No_**. She immediately shook that thought out of her mind. She couldn't go there. No matter how much she wanted to.

 _Okay. Come over now? x_

* * *

Jay was quite surprised when his phone buzzed just seconds after he sent that text to Abi. After everything she'd said last night, Jay wasn't sure how willing she was going to be to talk to him. He knew that she liked to hide away from her problems until she had no other choice but to face up to them. He only hoped she didn't think of him as a problem. But he also knew that Abi was insecure, and stubborn, and she was even more insecure and stubborn when she was hurting. If she wanted to shut him out, then she would. Perhaps he deserved to have her shut him out. At the end of the day, he was the one who split up with her and knowingly broke her heart into a thousand pieces. He let her get caught up in Ben's manipulation because he was stupid enough to believe his honorary brother when he promised he wouldn't hurt her. Jay knew that Abi wouldn't have even looked at Ben if it hadn't been for their breakup. All because he was dumb enough to think there were other fish in the sea. There was only one fish that he wanted, he was sure of that now.

As soon as he got the text back from Abi, he announced to Phil and Ben that he was taking an early lunch. There was no chance for either of them to argue, because he was gone within seconds. Jay knew how quickly his ex girlfriend could change her mind, he wasn't going to let this opportunity pass. He'd been fully expecting to have to bother her for ages before getting so much as a look in, so he was just pleased that she seemed willing to talk to him. Maybe they could actually face this like adults. Or, even better, maybe she'd admit how she felt and things could go back to being the way they used to be. The two of them could be happy again. Isn't that what really counted in all of this? Their happiness.

He might have hurt her - badly, he knew that. But he wanted to put things right with her now; he didn't want to waste any more time when he knew that she was the one he wanted to be with. Being without her was horrible, and he completely hated it. He hated seeing her with Ben, falling for all of his lies. Ben's feelings about that relationship may not have been genuine, but Abi's were - and her loving someone else bothered him more than it should have. He never said anything, because he wasn't that much of a hypocrite. He knew that he had no right to be upset about her being with another bloke, because he was the one who let his head turn. He was the one who let her think he was in love with her best friend. Who was he to be jealous of her trying to move on?

So, he'd left her alone. He wanted her to be happy, he really did. That was all he could ever want for her. But he knew that she wasn't going to find that happiness with Ben, not really. It would all be a lie. He'd tried to warn her about Ben's sexuality, but he should have known she wouldn't listen. She was stubborn like that. He'd tried to get her to see sense, genuinely because he cared about her and loved her, but she didn't want to know. He knew she'd put two and two together eventually, so he just had to be patient. Now, she knew the truth and her relationship with Ben could be nothing but a distant memory. A mistake, just like his short-lived fling with Lola.

He'd honestly been thrilled when Ben came home the other night and announced that they'd broken up. He told everyone that the two of them had just agreed it wasn't working anymore, but Jay and Phil knew the real reason. That didn't stop Phil trying to convince Ben to put things right with her though, as if he was going be able to talk his way out of a gay affair. Jay would have loved to see him try, that he'd admit.

Jay hadn't planned on telling her how he felt when he'd gone round there the night before. He'd honestly just wanted to give her the rest of her stuff, so that she wouldn't have to come back to the Mitchells' to get it, and make sure that she was okay. He'd had the best of intentions, but he couldn't help it. But he'd had a few drinks, and being there with her just felt right. It was the first time in ages that they'd been properly alone, and she looked so beautiful, that he just couldn't hold it in any longer. So he was finally honest with her about how he felt and he was extremely glad that he did, considering what happened next. They'd slept together for the first time in over a year, and it was amazing. He just wished she hadn't freaked out on him afterwards.

Jay raced round to Dot's, immediately moving to knock on the door. But his hand didn't even reach the door before it opened before him, and he was being dragged inside.

"Alright, calm down," Jay remarked, watching Abi slam the door behind him. "God, babe, I know I'm irresistible but calm down."

"We need to talk," she said seriously with a frown, crossing her arms across her chest as she walked past him into the living room.

He was quite taken aback, but obediently followed her. He couldn't help but think she was hot when she was like this - all feisty and demanding. She always looked gorgeous to him, but there was something about her when she was like this. Then there was the fact that she was wearing skin-tight jeans and an extremely low-cut (as in so low-cut he could see she wasn't wearing a bra underneath) top, and her hair was curled and falling over her shoulder. He just couldn't help but let his eyes wander.

"Are you going somewhere?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Abi shrugged. "Why?"

"You just look nice, that's all," Jay replied, about as subtle as a brick.

"Thanks," she said, glancing down and biting back a smirk. It wasn't long before she was moving her hands to her hips and giving him a not-so-innocent smile though."The top's new. Do you like it?"

Abi didn't know where that even come from. What the hell was she doing? She was supposed to be telling him nothing was going to happen between them. She was supposed to be telling him that she wasn't interested - which was exactly why she'd rushed to change into her new, more _mature_ clothes that she'd bought, straightened her hair and put on a seductive red lipstick. **_Obviously_**.

She definitely didn't just ask him that to draw his attention to her cleavage, either. **_Obviously_**.

"Um, yeah," he stuttered, trying to keep his eyes on her eyes. Which was pretty difficult to do when she seemed to be practically inviting him to stare at her exposed cleavage. "Yeah, it looks good on you."

"Thanks," she smiled, before biting her lip to stop herself from laughing. Even after a year apart, she could still read him like a book. It was safe to say that she knew exactly how to get him where she wanted him. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"W-what?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"Your text said we needed to talk," she reminded him with a smirk. "I'll take a wild guess and assume you wanted to talk about last night."

"Yeah, last night," Jay let out a breath, pulling himself together. "I know you said you don't want me anymore-"

"- I never said that," Abi interrupted, stepping closer to him. "I said a _lot_ of things, but I didn't say that."

"Well, you might as well have," Jay shrugged, only then noticing the strappy black stilettos she had on. He wondered briefly why she was so dressed up. "You said you regretted it, like, a minute after it…. ** _ended_**."

"Yeah, I know," Abi sighed, glancing down the ground as she bit her lip. Jay couldn't help but think to himself how sexy it was. It was as that thought ran through his mind that he twigged what she was doing. She only got sexy with him when she wanted something - including him.

"So?" Jay said, dragging the word out questioningly as he tried to figure her out.

"I don't regret yesterday, it was amazing," she admitted quickly, looking back up so that her eyes met his. "I mean, it was _really_ amazing. But I don't want to get back together."

"So, you're saying that yesterday was amazing but there's no chance of it happening again?" Jay asked, and it was obvious in his tone that he didn't believe her.

"Yeah," Abi replied, very unconvincingly.

"I'll believe that when it sounds like you believe it," Jay smirked, cheekily.

"I do mean it," Abi insisted.

"No, you don't," Jay stepped closer to her, so that they were stood right in front of each other. Neither of them were either to take their eyes off the other.

"How do you know?" Abi questioned breathily, raising an eyebrow as her gaze fell to Jay's lips. He was so close to her now that she could feel his breath on her. She felt her own breath hitch as his hand moved to her cheek, snaking across her skin until he tucked her hair behind her ear. All he had to do was touch her and her stomach was doing backflips.

She blamed his eyes, she always had. Those big blue eyes made her weak at the knees and could make her hang off his every word.

"Because I know you, Abs," Jay breathed huskily, lowering his eyes to her cherry red lips as he tilted his head to kiss her. "I know **_exactly_** what you want."

They both leaned in that extra fraction and just like that, their lips were closing the tiny gap that had been separating them.

Their passionate kissing continued for a few seconds, their hands all over each other. Abi shoved him back slightly, and he stumbled back onto the sofa. She let out a laugh at his reaction as he just stared at her as he tried to catch his breath. She let him appreciate the view for a second longer, before she climbed onto the sofa, straddling him and throwing her arms around his neck.

"I don't know what the hell has got into you," Jay breathed, as he gripped her waist with his hands. "But I'm definitely okay with it."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Abi smirked, not giving him a chance to reply before her lips were on his again.

* * *

Half hour later, they were both laying on the sofa. They were both sweaty and still trying to catch their breath as they soaked up the aftermath of their bliss.

"Seriously, babe, you were always good at that but," Jay sighed, thinking out loud as he buckled his jeans. "But that was actually **_unreal_**."

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself as much as I did," Abi smirked, playfully rolling her eyes as she pulled her top over her head.

"Yeah," Jay laughed. "So much for it not happening again though, eh?"

"We're still not getting back together," Abi shook her head, smiling gently.

"I'm sorry, you're telling me you _**don't** _ want to do that again?" Jay questioned, raising both his eyebrows in complete and utter disbelief.

"Oh no, I would be more than happy to do _that_ again," Abi shrugged, doing up the button on her skinny jeans before turning back to face him. She lifted her hand up to stroke his cheek, just like he'd done to her half hour before. "But we're  not getting back together."

"You.." Jay frowned, trying to string the words together. There was no way she meant what he thought she meant. "You want to sleep with me, but you don't want a relationship?"

"...Sure," Abi replied after a few seconds. She'd already proven that she wanted him, and loved him but he didn't need to know that, so what was the point in trying to be subtle about it? He was right. "I'm not jumping back into a relationship with you, Jay. But that's no reason why we can't have a bit of fun. For old times sake and all that."

"Are you serious?" Jay asked, trying not to smirk. Sure, he wanted her - all of her - but he'd take what he could get. As far as he was concerned, any part of her was better than nothing. Plus, after last night and now today, he wasn't going to be turning her down.

"Yeah," Abi smiled, knowing he was on board. She wasn't ready for a relationship, but she needed to have him in her life. He made her happier than anyone, afterall. "Call it exes with benefits."

* * *

Thank you for the follows, faves, and reviews for the first chapter! I'm really glad that you guys like this, the positive feedback means the world. Honestly, I wasn't going to start another story so soon after completing Baby Blues but I couldn't really resist. Once I have an idea in my head, that's that, especially when it comes to Jay and Abi! I really miss them on the show, so I figured I'd put it right in my little fantasy world. It's how I cope with my withdrawal symptoms. ;)

If you liked this chapter (or even if you didn't), please leave me a quick review! Thanks for reading. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Warning: Mature content ahead! Not much. But a bit. ;)

* * *

Jay smirked as he slid his phone into his back pocket. Trying to contain his happiness, he didn't say a word as he went back to work on the car.

"Right, that's it," Ben suddenly spoke up from where he was sat by the desk, with his feet propped up as if he owned the place. "What's going on?"

"What are you on about?" Jay asked, not looking up at his surrogate brother.

"You know _exactly_ what I mean, you've been trying to hide your smirk all day," Ben observed, with a smirk of his own. "For the past two weeks now, actually. I want to know why."

"I don't know what you're talking about, mate," Jay scoffed.

"Oh, come on, who is she?" Ben asked, clearly not giving up anytime soon.

"Who's who?" Jay sighed, putting down his spanner and crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned against the car.

"The mystery girl that has you wandering around like a lovesick puppy," Ben rolled his eyes.

"I'm **_not_ ** wandering around like a lovesick puppy," Jay echoed with a frown.

"So there is a girl then?" Ben questioned.

"No," Jay laughed. If only Ben knew, he thought. If only he knew.

"Fine, don't tell me," Ben sighed, as if he was genuinely insulted that Jay wasn't giving in.

"I'm not going to, don't worry," Jay replied.

"See, there clearly _is_ a girl," Ben said. "Is it Lola?"

"Of course it's not Lola," Jay spat. It was almost funny how disgusted the very suggestion of him and Lola being more than friends made him feel now.

"Okay, so who is it then?" Ben questioned once more, but this time, Jay simply ignored him. "Is she from around here?"

No answer.

"I'll take that as a yes. Do I know her?"" Ben asked with an irritating smirk. Again, Jay just ignored him. "I'm guessing that's a yes as well then."

"Alright, fine," Jay sighed. "Yes, I might be seeing someone. But you don't know her so just shut your gob already."

"Oh, _please_ , you don't know anyone that I don't know," Ben laughed.

"I met her online," Jay argued, mentally praising his own quick thinking. Abi would kill him if he told Ben (or anyone, but especially Ben) about their little arrangement. He didn't think Ben would be all that happy about it either, not that he cared about that. Jay just wasn't in the mood to deal with it yet. Things were finally looking up again, and he didn't need Ben raining on his parade with his childish nonsense. Because Jay had no doubt that there would be childish nonsense; he was sure Phil would have something stupid to say as well. Not that either of them would find out, if it was up to Abi.

"Seriously?" Ben asked, raising his eyebrows and taking Jay's matter of fact expression as his answer. "What's her name?"

"Doesn't matter," Jay shrugged. "You're not going to meet her anytime soon. We're not even together."

"What d'you mean?" Ben asked, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"I mean that we're not together," Jay replied.

"You like her though?"

"Yeah."

"So why aren't you together?"

"It's just…" Jay sighed. "It's just sex."

" ** _Just sex_**?" Ben echoed in disbelief, as if it was the most ridiculous thing in the world. " _You're_ having just sex?"

"I'm sorry, why is that so surprising?" Jay asked, suddenly very insulted.

"Because you don't have _just sex_ , you're too clingy and hopelessly romantic," Ben scoffed, shaking his head as he brought his feet down off the desk. "Especially if you like this girl - which you clearly do, by the way, it's painfully obvious and I didn't even know about her until thirty seconds ago."

"Yeah, well, don't remember asking for your opinion," Jay spat.

"Alright, sorry for asking now," Ben stood up. "Whoever she is, stop thinking about her for two minutes because the lovesick puppy thing that you have going on is this close to bringing my lunch back up."

"Whatever, do you think you can lock this place up or is that too much for you?" Jay asked as he began taking off his overalls, leaving him in a t-shirt and jeans.

"Why? Where you off?" Ben asked in an attempt to wind him up a bit more, and Jay swore he wanted to punch that stupid smirk right off his face. He could as well if he wanted to - but getting Ben to shut up wasn't worth to losing Abi again.

"Shut up," Jay muttered, chucking his uniform to the side and leaving the Arches. He had somewhere much better to be.

* * *

As soon as she heard the knock on the door, Abi jumped up off the sofa and went to answer it. She swung the front door open, and Jay quickly stepped inside before anyone could see.

She didn't want anyone to know about them. Why would she want anyone to know that she was sleeping with her ex boyfriend? It wasn't something she wanted to tell the entire Square, and once one person knew, everyone would. That was how secrets worked around Walford, she'd learned that a long time ago.

"Hi," Abi smiled, teasingly biting her lower lip.

"Hey," Jay replied. "You look nice."

"You always say that," Abi laughed, looking down at her skinny jeans and white top. She'd just changed her top when she got home from work, and she'd let her hair down so that it was casually falling over her shoulders. She was hardly dressed up.

"Because it's always true," Jay responded, matter of factly.

Abi glanced away, feeling her cheeks burning under his gaze. She hated when he did this; he made her feel like she was the only girl in the world. He always gave her those butterflies in her stomach, no matter how hard she tried to ignore them. At least when they were having sex, she could put it down to lust. But when they were just stood there innocently in Dot's hallway, she didn't have any excuses for the way he made her feel. And nobody could ever make her feel the way that Jay could.

"So, I have some good news," Abi smiled, sucking in a breath as she changed the subject.

"You do?" Jay questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Mhmm," Abi mumbled, pressing her lips together as she stepped closer to him. Once she was close enough, she slowly slid her hands up his arms and around his neck. Jay kept his eyes on her as his hands moved to her hips, pulling her even closer so that she was literally pressed against his body "Grandma's decided to stay with Dotty - sorry, _Kirsty_ \- for the entire week."

"Oh really?" Jay asked, biting back a smirk.

"Yep.." Abi sighed, trying not to let out a wide grin. "Which means I'm going to be left here all week, all on my own.."

"That's **_awful_** ," Jay breathed teasingly.

"I was kind of hoping you'd come keep me company," Abi said, her lips curling up into a smirk as she looked up at him seductively. "What do you think?"

"Hmm, I don't know.." Jay sighed teasingly, as Abi bit back a laugh.

"You know I can make it worth your while," Abi remarked innocently, biting her lip. "Or do you need a little reminder?"

"I think a reminder would be good," Jay replied adamantly, unable to tear his eyes away from her lips.

Abi smirked, before closing the tiny gap between them and pressing her lips against his. The kiss was gentle and teasing, that left Jay longing for more when Abi pulled away a few seconds later.

Neither of them said a word as they both smirked, before Jay leaned down and passionately recaptured her lips between his. With a slight nudge in the right direction from Jay, Abi stumbled backwards slightly until her back slammed against the wall.

As soon as her back hit the wall, Jay's lips were on her neck, leaving a trail of hot kisses across her skin. Abi unintentionally let out a soft moan as she arched her neck back to grant him more access, causing Jay to smirk. Abi's eyes fluttered closed, her fingers threading through Jay's hair as Jay's hands settled on her hips.

"Upstairs," Abi breathed, pushing him back gently, though her tone was anything but gentle. "Now."

Jay didn't need to be told twice. They both rushed up the stairs, and by the time they'd reached Abi's room, they were kissing passionately. Abi quickly pulled at his t-shirt, prompting him to raise his arms so that she could lift it over his head and throw it to the floor. His lips were back on hers within a second, his hands in her hair as he guided her backwards towards the bed. As soon as she was on the bed, he pulled her top over her head, so that they were both left shirtless when he moved his lips back to her neck. She let out another moan, her hands moving to his jeans. Jay immediately got the hint and pushed himself up slightly so that she could unbuckle his jeans, as he kicked off his shoes. Once his jeans were thrown aimlessly to the floor, he turned his attention back to her as Abi arched her back so that he could pull her skinny jeans off - and throw them casually to the floor with the rest of their clothes.

Once Jay left in nothing but his boxers and Abi in her matching black underwear, Abi pulled him back down to kiss him again. Jay wasted no time in reaching around her back and unclasping her bra, and within seconds, the skimpy material had joined the rest of the discarded clothes pile.

* * *

Jay pulled the blanket up around them, so that it was covering both their bodies as Abi smiled in content. They'd done this a few times over the past two weeks, and this was usually the point where Abi up and left (or practically chucked Jay out of bed). But, for some reason, she just couldn't force herself out of the bed in that moment. She was so genuinely happy when she was with him, and she'd only have to convince herself that she didn't physically miss him when he left. So, she ignored every instinct that she had, every nagging little voice in the back of her head, and stayed. She could tell that Jay was just waiting for her to say something.

"Jay," she said, after taking a deep breath. He looked about her, those blue eyes meeting hers and she swore she melted then and there.

"Yeah, I know," Jay sighed, pushing himself up into a sitting position to move out of bed. Immediately, she leaned over and grabbed hold of his arm.

"No, wait," Abi said quickly. She almost burst out laughing at the surprise and confusion written all over his face, but she simply smiled instead. "You don't have to go...Not if you don't want to. I mean, you could stay here tonight. _If_ you want to."

"Are you serious?" He asked after a few seconds, his eyebrows furrowed. Abi nodded, and Jay immediately grinned. "Then yeah, of course I want to. There's nothing I'd want more actually, as long as you're sure it's what you want."

"I'm sure, as long as you can handle a sleepless night" she smirked.

"You know I can," Jay replied, mirroring her smirk.

"Good," She leaned over to kiss him lovingly, her hand moving from his arm to cup the side of his face. "It doesn't mean anything though, okay?"

"... _Obviously_ ," Jay sighed, his eyes lowering as he mentally cursed himself for getting his hopes up as soon as she'd spoke.

"It's just," Abi sucked in a breath, sensing his disappointment. She smirked seductively as he looked back up at her. "I thought we could make the most of it, you know? Since Grandma Dot's not here and Fatboy's gone, we have the entire place to ourselves. It would be a shame to waste it..."

She knew that it was selfish, asking him to do things her way whilst she knew he wanted more. But what could she do? She didn't trust him. She loved him, but she certainly didn't trust him. Not anymore. This little thing that they had going on wasn't ideal, at least not for Jay, but it was good and Abi couldn't remember the last time she was as happy. Neither could Jay - the only difference was that Jay knew they could be even happier if she'd just give him another chance, if she'd just let him prove that he'd never hurt her again.

"I completely agree with **_that_** ," Jay smirked, placing a quick kiss on her lips before pulling back and letting out a sigh. "But we both know that it means something."

"Jay, we've been through this.." Abi replied quietly.

"Yeah, I know, as long as you're happy," Jay scoffed.

"If _you're_ not happy, Jay, you know where the door is," Abi said through clenched teeth. "You're more than welcome to leave, I won't try and stop you."

"I don't _want_ to leave, Abs, I want to be with you," Jay insisted, grabbing hold of both her hands. "I want to give us another go - **_properly_** , not like this."

"Why?" Abi questioned. " _This_ is working, Jay. I don't understand what your problem is."

"I want more than this, you know I do," Jay reminded her. "As great as **_this_ ** is - believe me, I am not complaining, because these past two weeks have been amazing. But we can't do this forever, babe, and I want forever. I want forever with you, I always have and I always will."

"Stop it.." Abi said, though it was barely above a whisper. "This is what we agreed. You just said it's amazing, so why the hell would you want to risk ruining it?"

"We wouldn't be ruining anything," Jay argued, shaking his head determinedly. When Abi did't say anything, Jay sighed. "I love you."

"Jay, I-" she scoffed, but was interrupted before she could say anything else.

"- No, Abs, for once in your damn life, you're going to let me speak," Jay spoke, cutting her off. Abi simply looked at him, keeping her mouth shut. "I. Love. You. I love you more than anything in the world and you know that. And as amazing as it is sneaking around, tearing each others clothes off...We're a lot more than that."

"We _can't_ be more than that," Abi sighed. "Please don't this, not now."

"Then when?"

"Can't we just enjoy this for now?" Abi pleaded, moving so that she was closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his as she kissed him again. "Just forget about everything else."

Jay didn't look convinced, but Abi could tell from the look on his face and the way his hands had already snaked around her waist, that he was considering it.

"Please, Jay?" She whined, biting her lips. Abi wasn't afraid to admit she knew how to get her own way, especially with Jay. "Please? I just want to be with you, okay? We have plenty of time for everything else."

"So you're saying there's a chance?" Jay raised his eyebrows. "Of us getting back together?"

"That's **not** what I said," she replied, letting out a laugh as she laid back down.

"Fine, alright," Jay sighed, giving in as he rolled over on his side so that he was facing her.

Neither of them said anything for a few moments, until Jay leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was gentle at first, but it didn't take long for it to become needy and fiery.

"So, we're okay now?" Abi asked, completely breathless.

"Yeah, of course we are," Jay smiled. As much as he wanted things to go back to how they used to be, he knew that he'd hurt her pretty badly when he'd stupidly ended their relationship because of his 'feelings' for Lola. He knew that he had to understand that she wasn't ready to trust him yet.

"Thank you," Abi whispered.

"Now, I believe I have a sleepless night to get on with?" Jay reminded her suggestively.

"I believe you do," Abi replied with a smirk.

* * *

I know it's been a few weeks since I last update, but college has me super stressed out at the moment. I finish for Christmas next week though, thank God! I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I possibly can. Please make sure to fave, follow and/or review! Reviews really motivate me, so if you're enjoying this, please spare a second of your day to let me know:) I promise it means the world. Thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Abi let out a disgruntled sigh as she found herself being woken up — by the familiar feeling of someone's lips trailing over her neck.

"Jay…" she whined, not bothering to even open her eyes.

"Morning, babe," Jay mumbled against her neck, and she could literally feel him smirking.

"What are you doing?" she breathed as she started to come around.

"Waking you up," he replied cheekily, his lips down to her collarbone.

"Mm, I think I prefer my alarm clock," she replied playfully, her lips curling up into a smile.

"Oh, is that right?" He questioned, pulling away from her.

Abi slowly opened her eyes, rolling over so that she was on her back and facing Jay who was leaning on his side. He smiled down at her and Abi didn't think she'd ever get sick of seeing that smile — not to mention the way he looked at her, even when she'd literally just woke up and probably looked like an extra on The Walking Dead. He still looked at her as if she was the only girl he'd ever laid eyes on and she knew there was nobody else who'd ever looked at her that way. There was nobody else that she _wanted_ to look at her the way that Jay looked at her, no matter how badly she'd tried to convince herself otherwise with Ben. Jay actually did genuinely love her, she knew that. He'd told her enough times, afterall. They might have had a little…blip, but she knew that he still had feelings for her. She was sure that Jay knew she still had feelings for him as well. But their feelings didn't matter; this wasn't a Disney movie. They weren't just going to go back to normal, pretend nothing ever happened and live Happily Ever After. Life wasn't a fairytale, far from it. Abi might have believed in soulmates and true love once, but not anymore. She knew the reality.

The reality was that they split up. Over a year ago, he'd dumped her for the girl she considered to be her best friend and broke her heart into a million pieces in the process of doing so. She wasn't entirely blameless, of course she knew that. She'd been distracted with her family, Lucy's death, going to university…She'd prioritised the wrong things in her life and he had his head turned. She couldn't blame him really - she took him for granted sometimes, she knew that too. She had just always thought their relationship was strong enough to survive anything.

Now they were just too old friends who had no-strings-attached sex on a regular basis. Sure, they were in love once but now it was just sex. Only now, he'd stayed the night and she was waking up next to him for the first time in forever, with nothing but her sheets separating them and everything felt so right and….and now she didn't know. She didn't know what they were, or what she even **_wanted_** them to be. She knew what he wanted them to be and she knew that she wasn't ready for that yet. She needed be 100% sure this time, before she went and jumped back into another relationship with her eyes shut.

She suddenly realised that Jay was expecting some witty remark in return, but she could barely think straight when he was looking at her like that. Had he _always_ looked at her like that?

Before she even knew what she was doing, she pushed herself up onto her elbows and kissed him. The kiss was gentle and tender, but it was meaningful. She didn't want to think anymore, she was sick of waiting for something to go wrong, for something to change her mind. She felt like she was just waiting for him to turn around and decide he didn't want her again, and that terrified her more than she'd like to admit. She just wanted him, that was all she'd ever want from now.

"Of course not," she whispered against his lips, pulling away from their kiss after a few seconds. She smiled at him, flirtatiously. "You're the best wake up call a girl could wish for."

"Well, you're not so bad to wake up to either," Jay teased and they both let out a laugh.

"Oh, thank you!" she replied sarcastically, gently nudging his chest. They both continued to laugh as he lifted his arm up so that she could rest her head on chest, before wrapping his arm around her. Abi smiled gently as she felt his fingers running softly through her blonde locks.

"Abs.." Jay spoke hesitantly, after a few moments.

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking, why don't we go out tonight?"

"Go out?"

"Yeah…" Jay breathed, and Abi shifted over slightly so that she could look at him. "I don't know, we could for a drink or something to eat. Maybe the cinema…"

"Like…on a **_date_**?" Abi question, frowning in confusion and slight concern.

"Yeah," Jay shrugged. "I know you said that this doesn't mean anything, but I thought it could be nice. We could go up West, spend some time together without you worrying about anyone seeing us together."

"Oh.." Abi muttered. She wasn't entirely sure what to say. Yes, she knew that Jay wanted them to get back together but to ask her out on a date? As if they hadn't just spent the night together?

"We don't have to, it was just an idea.." Jay quickly added.

"Well, I…I can't tonight," Abi replied quietly.

"Alright, ye-"

"What about tomorrow night?" Abi suggested with a soft smile, clearly taking Jay by surprise.

"Really?" Jay asked, barely able to contain his shock. When she nodded in response, Jay's shock turned to happiness. He wasn't actually expecting her to agree. "Okay, cool. Are you sure now? Because once you say yes, you can't go changing your mind on me at the last minute so if you don't really want to-"

His ramblings were cut off by a kiss, when Abi leaned up and pressed her lips against his once more.

"I would love to, you muppet," Abi whispered against his lips, as Jay's hands moved to her waist.

Before she knew what was happening, Jay rolled over so that she was on her back again and he was on top of her. She let out a shriek before beings silenced by his lips as he passionately kissed her.

After a few moments, she pulled back from the kiss and gave him a gentle shove.

"We can't do this now, I need to go shower," Abi laughed.

"Sounds good to me," Jay smirked, before starting to kiss her neck.

"Jay, I'm serious," Abi laughed, as Jay's lips travelled over her neck. I've got to go to work."

"What? You have ages yet," Jay scoffed, lifting his head and noting the clock on the bedside table said it was 7:30. Abi usually left the house by half past eight, in order to get to work by 9.

"Your job might literally be around the corner, but some of us have to actually catch the tube," Abi smirked, teasingly. She leaned up to give him a quick peck on the lips.

"Fine," Jay groaned playfully, rolling back over so that he was on his back and she was free to get up.

Abi climbed out of bed, not bothering to cover up — she was certain Jay had already seen every part of her from every angle anyway.

"I guess I should go home then," Jay sighed, appreciating the view as Abi stood completely naked in front of him.

"Maybe you should," Abi nodded, giving him an innocent smile over her shoulder. "Or maybe you should join me in the shower?"

"I thought you were in a rush to get to work?" Jay smirked.

"Well, you'd better get a move on then," Abi shrugged, leaving the room as Jay practically dived out of bed.

—

Jay took another sip of his beer as Ben told him about yet another argument he'd had with Phil.

"He's never going to stop drinking, is he?" Ben questioned.

Jay did feel sorry for Ben, and Phil for that matter. Ben genuinely didn't know what to do for the best and Phil…well, Phil was an addict. Plain and simple. Jay couldn't blame him for something that was out of his control, he only wished Phil would let people help him.

"Probably not," Jay replied sympathetically. "I think that's the entire meaning of **_alcoholic_**."

"I know," Ben said, rubbing a hand over his face. "But you didn't see how upset Sharon was this morning. She was trying to hold it together because of Dennis but she was in a right state."

"Your Dad did tell her that he drinks so that he can put up with her nagging," Jay scoffed. "I can hardly see her being happy about that."

"Well, you'd have actually seen it for yourself if you'd bothered to come home last night," Ben rolled his eyes.

"I was busy," Jay shrugged casually.

"Clearly," Ben laughed. "Are you still refusing to tell me who the girl is?"

"Yep," Jay responded, popping the 'p'.

"I told you about Paul," Ben rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his drink.

"Only because your Dad caught you at it and you felt guilty about lying to Abi," Jay argued.

"Shut up," Ben replied.

"Happily," Jay glanced down at his phone, seeing that Abi still hadn't replied to her text. She would have finished work an hour ago, so he was starting to wonder why she wasn't answering him.

"Looks like Abi isn't bothered about **_my guilt_** anymore, anyway," Ben spoke, causing Jay to look up at him and follow his gaze. Jay turned around, seeing Abi stood by the bar laughing with some bloke he didn't recognise.

Jay didn't consider himself a jealous person, but seeing the way she reacted to something another guy said? Well. Maybe he was a jealous person.

"Who the hell is that?" Jay asked, turning back around to face Ben and trying his best to seem nonchalant.

"No idea," Ben shrugged, clearly not that interested. "She avoids me in the street, Jay, she ain't going to let me know the details on her new boyfriend."

"What makes you think he's her boyfriend?" Jay asked, attempting to hide his anger at the suggestion.

"Because he's all over her?" Ben stated, as if it were obvious, and he motioned to Jay to look again. Jay turned around, seeing the guy with his arm around Abi and her just letting him. Abi obviously hadn't noticed Ben and Jay sitting on the other side of the bar — she was far too busy laughing at whatever the bloke was saying to her.

Jay swore he could feel his blood boil. What the hell was she doing? This guys had his arm around her shoulders, couldn't get any closer to her if he tried and all she could do was laugh? Why wasn't she telling him to get off her? Why wasn't she telling him she was seeing somebody?

It suddenly hit him that she _wasn't_ seeing somebody. They weren't together. They might have been sleeping together on a regular basis and she might have agreed to go out with him tomorrow night —

 _Tomorrow night_. Is this why she couldn't go out with him tonight? Was she for real?!

"Jay, bruv, you alright?" Ben asked, confusion written all over his face. Jay forced himself to tear his eyes away from Abi and the dick that needed to get the hell away from her.

"Fine," Jay said, shaking his head. Last thing he needed now was Ben getting suspicious. "I'm going to go say hello."

"To Abi?" Ben questioned. "Are you serious? I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not? It's you she has a problem with, not me," Jay shrugged as took one last swig of his beer, before standing up.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd even spoke to her since she moved out?" Ben asked in confusion.

"Perfect time for a catch up then," Jay gave him a tight-lipped smile in annoyance, ignoring him as he called after him.

Abi still hadn't noticed him as he walked over, too caught up in her conversation with the dick that still needed to get the hell away from her.

"Alright, Abs?" Jay spoke up, catching her attention as she turned around.

"Jay," she noted in surprise. "Hey-"

"You gonna introduce me to your friend?" Jay asked, not giving her a chance to speak.

"— Uh, oh, yeah," Abi mumbled, taken aback and turning to her friend. "This is Darren, he's my boss's son. Darren, this…this is Jay."

"Nice to meet you," Darren smiled, finally removing his arm from Abi's shoulders so that he could extend his hand to Jay. The attempt at a hand shake went completely ignored.

"Yeah, you too," Jay replied, not even attempting to hide his distain. "So, what is this? Cozy little date?"

" ** _Jay_** ," Abi said firmly, warning him to shut up.

"What? Just a friendly question," Jay smiled falsely.

"We're just having a drink, that's all," Abi responded gently, whilst subtly glaring at him.

"Listen, mate, I don't know what your problem is.." Darren spoke.

"I don't have a problem, **_mate_** ," Jay spat, not taking his eyes off Abi for a single second. "Can I talk to you please, Abs? Alone?"

"Don't be so rude," Abi replied.

"It's fine, I need to use the bathroom anyway," Darren cut in. "I'll leave you guys to talk."

Abi smiled at him gratefully as he walked towards the men's room, and Jay wanted to vomit there and then. As soon as Darren was out of sight, Abi turned around and glared at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She questioned angrily, standing from her seat by the bar.

"What's wrong with _me_?!" Jay echoed in disbelief. "You're the one letting another fella hang all over you!"

"He's my friend," Abi spat furiously. "No, wait, he's my **_boss's son_** and you've just completely humiliated me in front of him!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, maybe I should have told him who you were in bed with this morning," Jay whispered jealously.

Abi didn't say anything for a couple of seconds as she studied his features.

"You're _**jealous**_?" she asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

"I am not jealous," Jay argued.

"Aren't you?" she raised her eyebrows. "You're standing here getting all worked up, just because I'm having a drink with a friend. Sounds like jealousy to me."

"Okay, so what if I'm jealous?" Jay asked. "You know how I feel about you and I thought you felt the same way."

"I have never once said that," Abi defended. "I've made myself clear about what I want."

"Have you?" Jay replied. "Because this morning you agreed to go out with me tomorrow yet here you are with another bloke! Which I'm assuming is why you couldn't go out tonight."

"I didn't know what time I'd be finishing work, that's why," Abi protested. "My boss — Darren's _father_? He's in hospital so the surgery is manic right now. I'm having a drink with him to try and take his mind off his father being seriously sick."

Jay was silent as he let the realisation sink in. He may have gone a bit overboard.

"Oh," he muttered ashamedly.

"Yeah, _oh_ ," Abi repeated. "Are you done being a prat now?"

"I'm sorry," Jay sighed. "But can you seriously blame me for jumping to conclusions?"

"Yes, I can," Abi spat.

"I'm sorry, Abs," Jay apologised again, glancing over at Ben to see he was too busy on his phone to pay attention to the two of them. He subtly reached for her hand, giving her an apologetic smile.

"Yeah, you should be," Abi mumbled, before her features softened. She pulled her hand away after a moment, remembering how quickly gossip spread in Walford. "But it's okay, I know Darren comes across as a bit of a flirt. It's just the way he is, I think."

"Bit of a flirt?" Jay echoed her words. "Abs, he was all over you. Or at least it looked that way."

"He's just a friend, that's all," Abi shrugged. "I mean, he did ask me out last week…"

"What?!" Jay interrupted.

"—And I shot him down," Abi quickly added. "Because I happen to be _waking up_ to someone much better."

"I don't like him," Jay breathed after a few seconds.

"He's a nice guy," Abi laughed. "I barely know him, anyway. I only met him last week, and he's come in to the Vets a few times to check on things. But he's perfectly nice. "

"Yeah, and he fancies you," Jay rolls his eyes.

"Well, I'm not interested," Abi smiled. "Besides, I think he's got better things to think about right now. He's in his final year of University, as well as all the stuff with his Dad."

"What's he studying?" Jay scoffed. "Oh, let me guess, Fine Art? Medieval Literature?"

"Medicine," Abi responded coldly. "Stop being such an ass, you barely know him."

"Neither do you!" Jay replied. "None of that stuff stopped him from coming onto you, did it? He's probably just using his Dad's illness for sympathy sex."

" ** _Sympathy sex_**?" Abi questioned, starting to get annoyed again. "Have you heard yourself?!"

"He's already got you going for a drink to cheer him up, it's hardly that difficult to believe," Jay rolled his eyes.

"You know what?" Abi sighed, grabbing her bag as she saw Darren walking towards her. "Maybe I will go out with him. I am single, after all."

"Is everything okay?" Darren asked.

"Great," Abi smiled. "There's a nice bar down the road, do you want to go there?"

"- **_Abi_** ," Jay protested, but she simply ignored him.

"Yeah, sure," Darren replied, leaving Jay forced to watch as Abi left with another man.

There was absolutely no way he was going to lose her again, he promised himself that there and then. He'd win her back, for good this time, no matter what it took.

* * *

Aw, look. They were almost happy for an entire chapter! I like making them miserable, what can I say? Ooh, I know what I can say — there's only two more chapters of this fairly short story, but whether Jay and Abi will get their happy ending or not is yet to be seen. ;)

Please leave a review if you have a chance! It's highly appreciated. Until next time. xo


	5. Chapter 5

It had been two weeks since the incident with Jay at the pub, and Abi was still refusing to so much as talk to Jay. She wouldn't reply to his calls, his texts went unanswered and she wouldn't answer the door to him on the several occasions he'd tried to bang it down. Jay understood that she was angry, but this was just ridiculous. How was he meant to apologise, to put things right, when she wouldn't even _see_ him?

So, when he saw Abi walking towards Dot's, he quickly told Ben he was going to get some coffees from the cafe and wasted no time in chasing after her.

"Abi! Abs, wait," He called, causing her to turn around. To his surprise, she didn't rush inside. Instead, she actually stopped and waited for him to reach her.

"What do you want, Jay?" She asked, opening the door.

"You've been ignoring me," he stated, catching his breath.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," she quipped, raising an eyebrow.

"Look, I know I was out of order the other day," Jay breathed. "But I'm really sorry."

"So you should be," Abi replied. "You have no right to decide where I go or who I see, and you definitely don't have a right to be a complete prat about it."

"I know, I'm sorry," Jay apologised, stepping closer to her. "But it's been two weeks, Abs. Don't you think the silent treatment has gone on long enough?"

Abi just looked at him. She did miss him — _God_ , did she miss him. Resisting the urge to pick up the phone when she saw his name flash up, or trying to ignore him when she could hear his voice when he was at the front door…It killed her. But Abi was as stubborn as they come, and she was sick of letting people walk all over her as if she was nothing. Jay didn't get to talk to her like that; he didn't get to show her up in front of her friends or act like she was something he owned. Okay, sure, he'd been jealous but did he seriously think Abi had never been jealous? She used to drive herself crazy with insecurity and paranoia about his ' _friendship_ ' with Lola, but she never once told him that flat out.

"Whatever, Jay," Abi rolled her eyes, opening the door further so that she could step inside. Jay quickly rushed towards her, sensing he was about to get a door slammed in his face again.

"Abs, wait, please!" He pleaded, holding the door to stop her from closing it. "Can I come in? Talk about this properly?"

"What's there to talk about?" Abi questioned. "I'm done with you, with _this_."

"Don't say that," Jay sighed. "Just let me in so that we can talk, let me explain myself and if you still want nothing to do with me after that then fine. I'll leave you alone."

"Fine…" Abi mumbled after a moment of consideration. She opened the door and motioned for him to step inside, which he did.

"Thank you," he breathed, as Abi shut the door. She turned around, folding her arms over her chest and giving him an expectant look.

"Come then," she said. " _ **Talk**_."

"I'm sorry that I got so jealous," Jay apologised. "I went about it completely wrong, I know that. I just…I saw that bloke with his hands all over you, and I saw red. I thought I was losing you again."

"Jay, I'm not yours to lose anymore," Abi sighed sadly. "We're not in a relationship, you're not my boyfriend now. I don't need your permission to go for a drink with a person of the opposite sex."

"I know," Jay admitted. "I know you don't, that's not what I'm saying at all. It's just…All I want is to be able to go for a drink with you, to be able to put my arm around you like that and not have you push me off because you don't want anyone to know we're together."

"But we're _not_ together, Jay," Abi shook her head. "We're just sleeping together, there's a difference."

"Well, I want us to be together, not _just sleeping together_."

"You know that can't happen."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't put myself through that again, Jay!" Abi replied, raising her voice. Jay was clearly taken back by her response, and didn't say a word. She let out a sigh, before she spoke again. "Do you even realise how badly you hurt me? You broke my heart, Jay; completely broke my heart. I can't risk that happening again."

"I would never hurt you like that, not again," Jay insisted, grabbing hold of both her hands as he stepped closer to her. "I know I messed up back then, and there is nothing I regret more than ever letting you go in the first place."

"But you did," Abi shrugged, feeling herself getting upset. "You did let me go. For **_her_**."

"Lola was a mistake," Jay sighed.

"Yeah, easy to say that now that she's dumped you and I'm the one left to pick up the pieces," Abi replied.

"Do you think I only want to be with you again because Lola dumped me? Jay asked, as he suddenly realised what she meant. When she didn't reply, he lifted one of his hands to her chin in order to force her to look at him. "That is nowhere near true, do you understand me?"

"Isn't it?" Abi asked, getting teary.

"No, of course it's not," Jay protested. "Abi, I love you. You're the love of my life."

"And I love you," Abi confessed and Jay smiled — he'd waited so long to hear her say that again.

"So then what's the problem?" Jay asked gently.

"I love you, Jay, but I don't trust you," Abi admitted. "What happens when Lola comes back and flutters her eyelashes? Decides she wants you back? What do I do when you break my heart all over again?"

"Lola can do what she likes, I couldn't care less," Jay professed. "It's _you_ that I want. Only you."

"I really want to believe that," Abi smiled sadly, moving away from him. "But I can't, Jay."

"Abs, I know that I hurt you and I swear I will spend my life making it up you," Jay insisted. "If you'd let me."

"Haven't you listened to a word I've just said?" Abi frowned, feeling herself getting teary. "I can't risk it, Jay. You can make all the empty promises that you want, but we both know you'd rather be with her right now."

"Haven't _you_ listened to a word **_I've_** said?" Jay echoed. "I don't love her, I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life, Abs. Nobody will ever come close."

Abi didn't say anything, instead she just rushed into the living room — whilst desperately trying to wipe away her tears. The last thing she needed right now was for him to see her cry.

"Abi.." Jay sighed, following her into the living room.

"Just shut up for a minute, will you?" Abi mumbled, trying to regain her composure a bit. God, she felt so pathetic. "I can't do this, Jay. I really can't. I promised myself that I wouldn't do this."

"Do what?" Jay asked confusedly.

"Be like my Mum!" Abi cried, turning to face him again. "I am not my Mum, okay? I'm not going to keep breaking up with you, then forgiving you and then getting my heart broken again, time and time again. I've **_seen_** that, Jay, I've grown up with it and I'm not putting us through that."

"Abi, we're nothing like your parents," Jay insisted gently. "You're nothing like your Mum and I'm nothing like your Dad. I messed up once, yeah—"

" ** _Once_**?" Abi interrupted with a laugh.

"Yes, once," Jay repeated.

"Right, so what was Kitty then? A figment of my imagination?" Abi questioned.

"What? That was nothing," Jay answered. "That was a stupid kiss with a girl I barely knew that happened years ago."

"Still happened though, didn't it?" Abi reminded him. "And I forgave you, took you back. Because I love you so much and back then, I genuinely thought that you would never hurt me like that ever again. And what did you go and do? Hurt me so much more than I ever imagined you could."

"Abi, I'm sorry.."

"Yeah, so you keep saying."

"I mean it," he sighed. "I'm sorry for everything and if you'd just give me another chance.."

"I've given you enough chances," Abi replied sadly.

"So…what?" Jay questioned. "This is it for us, is that what you're saying?"

"I don't know," Abi admitted honestly with a shrug. "I thought we might have been able to make it work again. Properly, you know? That's why I agreed to go out with you, but then you acted like that in the pub…"

"To be fair, how would you feel if you saw me with another girl all over me like that?"

Abi looked down at the floor awkwardly, and Jay immediately realised what he'd said. This was never going to leave them, was it? She'd always have it in the back of her head, how he fell for another girl - her best friend - whilst they were still together. He was never going to be able to put that right, but all he could do was try and get her to understand that they could move on from it if they tried.

"Abs.."

"It's fine, just leave it now," Abi shook her head, looking back up at him.

"I know that I overreacted with that fella, but…" Jay paused, thinking over his words a bit more carefully this time. "But I can't see you with another man like that. I kept my mouth shut when you were with Ben because I thought we were over, but now I know that there's hope for us."

"But there's not," Abi protested. "There's not hope for us, Jay, don't you get that?"

"Abi, I know that you have feelings for me. You just said you're still in love with me!" Jay argued. "And even if you didn't just say that, we've literally been sleeping together for weeks now."

"That's just sex, Jay!" Abi yelled, raising her voice again. "It's. Just. Sex."

"Well, I don't want just sex!" Jay responded, raising his voice to match Abi's. "I want _**you**_. I want all of you and I want everybody to know about it."

"But this was working," Abi argued. "Us sleeping together, sneaking around, nobody knowing? That was working, we were both happy."

"No, we weren't!"

There was a pause as neither of them spoke. They just looked at each other intensely for a few moments, until Abi turned her back to him, making Jay speak up again.

"Sex isn't enough for me, Abs," Jay sighed gently. "I love you more than anything, and the idea of you going out with some other bloke drives me insane because I know that you wish it was me."

Again, there was nothing but silence so Jay took a deep breath and continued.

"Have you seen him again since that night?" He asked.

"Only at work," Abi replied, turning back around. "He asked me out again but I said no."

"Why?" Jay asked.

"You know why," Abi sighed. There was no point denying it, was there? He knew her better than anyone and he knew exactly how she still felt about him, he'd made that much obvious. "That night, we went to the Albert and I spent the entire time thinking about you. I wanted to kill you, but I couldn't get you out of my head. I haven't been able to get you out of my head for the past two weeks."

"What about Daniel?" Jay asked spitefully, trying not to smile at her words.

"Darren," Abi corrected him, a smile pulling at her lips.

"Whatever."

"He's nothing compared to you," she shrugged. "Nobody is. Not him, not Ben, no one."

"And I feel the same way about you," Jay said, grabbing hold of both her hands and pulling her closer to him. "I always will, I promise you that. Just let me prove it to you."

Abi was quiet for a moment as she considered it, Jay pleading with her with his eyes. How could she ever say no to those damn eyes?

"One more chance and I mean one," Abi replied. "You mess up again this time and that's it."

"I won't, I promise," Jay grinned. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Abi smiled

Jay didn't need any more encouragement than that, before he leaned down and kissed her passionately. Abi happily responded to the kiss, her hands tangling in Jay's hair as his hands gripped her waist tightly as if he was afraid to let her go. After a few moments, she pulled back slightly.

"You never pull a stunt like you did with Darren again, do you hear me?" Abi replied, determinedly.

"I'll never act like that again, I promise," Jay smirked. "I should have trusted you."

"That's _exactly_ what you said when you punched Dexter in the face because you thought he was coming on to me," Abi smirked.

"In my defence, I didn't **_know_** he was your cousin," Jay rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," Abi scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"So, does this mean I can call you my girlfriend again now?" Jay asked flirtatiously.

"I think it does, yeah," Abi nodded. "As long as I get to tell everyone that you're my boyfriend."

"You know it, baby," Jay smirked, causing Abi to laugh before she leaned up and kissed her boyfriend.

* * *

One more chapter left! Remember to leave a review, please and thank you xo


	6. Chapter 6

Jay smirked as he pulled his shirt over his head, watching Abi getting dressed in front of him. They'd officially been back together for almost a week now, and nobody actually knew yet. They still weren't sure when the right time to say anything was — Abi insisted that Jay was the one who told Ben, since she didn't have to see why _she_ should have to. Other than that, nobody needed to be told. So, they'd talked about it and had decided to just go with the flow for a while. Neither of them wanted to rush things, even if they had been sleeping together for ages now, and neither of them felt like having their relationship broadcast all over Walford. Abi was worried what people would think about her going straight back to her ex boyfriend, who just so happened to be the surrogate brother of her gay boyfriend. She told Jay that she didn't care if people gossiped about her, but they both knew that was a lie. The point was, the two of them were genuinely happier than they'd been in a long time and they wanted to keep it that way. Just until they got used to being a couple again, because it had been a while. Jay knew that it was best to take things slow for now.

His smirk only grew as he watched Abi struggle with the zip on her dress. Without saying a word, he walked up behind her. Her hair fell messily over one shoulder, so he leaned down to place his lips on her neck as he slowly pulled the zip up.

"Thank you," Abi breathed, biting back a smile.

"You're very welcome," he replied, snaking his arms around her waist.

"We should probably get going," Abi sighed, leaning her head back onto Jay. "We were supposed to leave half hour ago."

"I'd say sorry but I'm not," Jay smirked. "I don't see why we have to go at all, when we could just stay here and spent the night doing that again.."

"Because it's Jack and Ronnie's engagement party," Abi scoffed, playfully rolling her eyes. "It'll be weird if neither of us show up. Plus Dot will just come back here looking for me anyway."

"Fine," Jay sighed, as he stepped away from her and she turned around to face him. "But do we _**seriously**_ have to go separately?"

"Both our families are going to be there, so yes," Abi sighed apologetically, before letting out a laugh. "Unless you think now's the time to make a grand announcement."

"Don't see why not," he smirked, gently reaching for her hands and pulling her closer to him.

" _You_ want to be the person who steals Ronnie's limelight?" Abi laughed, and Jay simply shrugged. "Okay."

"Okay?" Jay echoed in confusion. "What do you mean _okay_?"

"I mean okay," Abi smiled. "I don't want to make a big fuss, but we can go together. Who cares what anyone else thinks?"

"What about Ben though?" Jay asked. "I don't know how he'll take it, especially not in front of everyone. You know what he's like with trying to prove he's a man and all that."

"Well, we won't tell anyone," Abi suggested. "But I'm not going to be able to get through an entire night of my family and the Mitchells without you, so there's no point trying to hide that."

"Good point," Jay replied, his lips quickly turning up into a smirk again. "And I'm not going to be able to take my eyes off you in that dress, so there's no point in hiding that either."

"You mean you _like_ it?" Abi asked sarcastically. She was wearing a skin-tight black dress that came to just above her knees, styled with a pair of strappy black heels and a leather jacket. Her hair was wavy, just the way that Jay liked it, and fell effortlessly over her shoulders. Jay meanwhile was in wearing a pair of black trousers and a white shirt.

"Did you not get that impression when I was tearing it off you?" Jay questioned in return, equally as sarcastic and mocking as Abi.

"I might have had a feeling," Abi smirked. "Now come on, before Dot comes back."

"Don't think I'm going to be able to look her in the eye so soon after doing **_that_** on her sofa," Jay muttered, biting back a laugh.

"I know, I feel awful," Abi replied, biting her lip as she tried not to laugh. "I'm not going to have that problem for long now though, looking Dot in the eye I mean."

"You're seriously considering what Jack said?" Jay asked.

"I think so, yeah," Abi nodded. "I spoke to Lauren about it earlier. She's only been back two days and she's already losing the plot a bit staying with Ian and Jane, so it makes sense for her and Peter to move in here with Louis."

"Why can't they go to Jack's then? Or Ian's for that matter?"

"Because Ian and Jane's place is falling apart at the seams as it is," Abi shrugged. "And there'll be more room here for them, Louis will be able to have his own nursery. There's only one room going at Uncle Jack's new place, with him, Ronnie, Amy and Matthew."

"So you go and live with Jack and Ronnie, and Peter and Lauren move in here with Dot?" Jay said as if he was thinking aloud.

"Yeah, it makes sense."

"What does that mean for us though?"

"What do you mean?"

"We're not going to get away with sneaking around there, Abs."

"I don't want us to sneak around there," Abi replied, rubbing her thumb against the back of Jay's hand. "Moving into Uncle Jack's is a new start, and that includes you. As my **_boyfriend_**."

"Good," Jay smiled. "Come on then, we best get to the Branning-Mitchell party of the century."

"Oh God, I hope someone has the ambulance on stand by," Abi teased, the both of them laughing as they left Dot's and made their way to the Albert — as a couple, ready to face the music.

* * *

Jay and Abi made their way into the bar, trying to act as normal as possible. Whilst Abi didn't want to hide it anymore and Jay certainly wanted everyone to know about them, neither of them thought it was a good idea to draw attention to themselves — especially not in public, with all of the family around, including Ben. So, they just kept a safe distance between them and acted as natural as they could.

"Abs, finally!" Jack called, coming over to them when he noticed his niece.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late," Abi laughed awkwardly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she avoided looking at Jay.

"It's okay, you're here now," Jack smiled, leaning in for a hug. "You haven't seen your sister have you?"

"No, not since earlier," Abi answered, as they hugged for a few seconds before pulling away. "Isn't she here yet?"

"She's not, no. But neither's Peter so I'm sure they just got held up with baby Louis," Jay mused, before looking over at Jay, who was sheepishly stood behind Abi. "Alright, Jay?"

"Yeah, I'm good thanks," Jay answered almost nervously, causing Abi to look down at her feet as she tried her best not to laugh. "So, uh, congratulations."

"Cheers," Jack replied with a smile, but Abi could tell the wheels in his head were turning already at the sight of the two of them arriving at the same time when the only other guests who hadn't arrived were Lauren and Peter.

"Right, well, _I_ need a drink," Jay sighed after a moment of awkwardness. "Abs, do you want one?"

"No thanks, I'm good," she replied, forcing a tight-lipped smile as she watched Jay nod and walk away from her and Jack.

"So, come on then," Jack spoke, once Jay was out of earshot. "How long has this been back on for?"

"What are you talking about?" Abi questioned, laughing nervously.

"You and Jay?" Jack asked with a smirk. "Abi, you're hardly the most subtle person I've met."

"I don't.." Abi started to lie, but then realised that she didn't want to lie anymore. They had agreed, afterall, that they weren't going to deny it. " ** _Fine_** , me and Jay are back together."

"Since when?" Jack asked.

"Officially? Like, a week," Abi laughed. She may have been in an honest mood, but she actually didn't feel like giving her Uncle all of the details about how she'd been sleeping with her ex boyfriend for weeks. "So, I'd appreciate it if you just kept it to yourself for a while."

"Of course," Jack agreed, taking a sip of his drink.

"Thank you," Abi smiled.

"Have you thought more about moving in?"

"Yeah," Abi breathed. "If you're sure that Ronnie's okay with it.."

"She is," Jack interrupted her reassuringly.

"Then, I would love to," Abi nodded. "I spoke to Lauren and Peter earlier and they'll be grateful for a bit of extra space at Dot's. I think they're really struggling at Ian and Jane's."

"What about Dot?" Jack asked. "How does she feel about it?

"She's on board too," Abi confirmed. "She said she'd miss me, but I know she loves the idea of having Lauren and Peter there, especially with Louis."

"Well, it's worked out nicely then," Jack laughed, motioning for her to follow him over to where all the guests were sitting. "You might have to fight Amy for the biggest room though, just a word of warning."

"Oh, that's okay, I have experience with Lauren," Abi laughed. "I guess it's only fair that I'll let her have it."

"How kind of you," Jack remarked and Abi simply laughed.

The two of them reached the rest of the guests — 99% of whom seemed to be a Mitchell in some shape or form, which was slightly awkward but Abi tried to get over it. That didn't stop a pang of hurt when she saw that Paul had accompanied Ben to the party though.

No, she was happy for Ben, she was. She wasn't bitter, or angry, because she had no reason to be. Hurt that someone she considered a friend would use her like that? Yes, but there were no hard feelings. Afterall, if he hadn't have cheated on her, she wouldn't have found her way back to Jay.

 _ **Jay**_. Her eyes quickly found his and he immediately gave her the most heart-melting smile ever, so she couldn't help but smile back at him. It wasn't very subtle but she didn't care. Ben said something to Jay that drew his attention away from her, and Abi quickly moved to go and sit by Whitney and Dot.

An hour later and the engagement party was still in full swing. Jay had had a fair bit to drink and was considerably drunk as he came over and sat next to Abi.

"You alright?" Abi asked with a laugh.

"Mmm," Jay mumbled, leaning over to whisper in her ear. "I love you."

"You're drunk," Abi whispered back with an amused smile, gently nudging him away when she noticed Ben watching them. Everyone else was too caught up in dancing and drinking, but Ben was watching the two of them intensely.

"Yep," he replied, popping the 'p'. "You know me so well, babe."

"How much have you had?" Abi enquired, shaking her head. She'd had a few cocktails herself, but she wasn't nearly as tipsy as Jay currently was.

"Dunno," he shrugged.

"You're such an idiot," she laughed affectionately.

"But you still love me," Jay stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah," Abi replied quietly with a smile. "Yeah, I do."

Their little moment lasted all of a second longer before Ben piped up.

"You two got something you'd like to tell us or?" Ben questioned loudly, causing most of the other party guests to look over in curiosity.

"What?" Abi responded sharply, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. She should have known that he would kick off about this, even though he had absolutely zero right to do so.

"You guys just seem pretty cozy over there, that's all," Ben answered.

"Okay," Abi said, not willing to give her ex boyfriend anything more than a one word answer. She knew there were no hard feeling with her and Ben, but he still had an amazing ability to irritate her like nobody else could.

"Shut up, Ben," Jay slurred.

"Are you back together?!" Ben shouted after a moment. "Is Abi the girl you've been seeing?!"

"So what if she is?" Jay challenged drunkenly.

An awkward silence filled the room and Abi put her head in her hands as she felt all eyes on her. This was **_exactly_** how she didn't want everyone finding out, looking at her as if she was some tramp who couldn't make up her mind. _Just like her Mother_ , she could practically hear them all thinking it.

"Wait, seriously?" Lauren questioned. "Abs, why didn't you tell me!?"

"Because she's ashamed that she turned out to be such a little **_slapper_** ," Ben scoffed.

"Oi, watch it," Jay went to get up, but Abi quickly grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Be quiet, Ben, you're embarrassing yourself," Abi rolled her eyes.

" _I'm_ embarrassing myself?" Ben echoed. "You're the one who's gone running back to her ex the first chance she got!"

"At least I waited until we broke up to start seeing another bloke, you weren't quite as polite," Abi reminded him, watching his face drain of colour. "You literally have no right to say anything about this, Ben, so just shut your damn mouth for once in your life."

"You're supposed to be my **_brother_** ," Ben said, turning his anger to Jay as he stood up.

"When it suits you, yeah," Jay scoffed. "Stop pretending to be the hard man, Ben, I've told you before that it just doesn't suit you."

"Ben, just leave it," Paul sighed, grabbing hold of Ben's arm but Ben quickly pulled away from him and stormed out of the bar with a clearly annoyed Paul not far behind him.

A couple of uncomfortable seconds passed before everyone quietly went back to their own conversations.

"So, you two are back on then?" Peter asked with a grin.

"Yeah, we are," Abi smiled as Jay shifted over and interlocked their fingers.

"Aw, about time I say," Whitney added.

"Yeah, me too," Jay said, leaning in to give Abi a quick kiss on the lips.

 _About time_ was definitely right.

* * *

Jay climbed into bed, pulling the covers over him and Abi as she got into bed next to him. He threw his arm over Abi's waist as he spooned her, causing Abi to laugh.

"Seriously, how much did you have tonight?" Abi asked.

"A few," Jay sighed, pressing a kiss on her cheek.

"You are _so_ lucky I love you, you absolutely sink of beer right now," Abi shook her head.

"I'm sorry," Jay said, though it was fairly obvious that he wasn't sober enough to even sound genuinely apologetic.

"Yeah, you will be when you wake up in the morning with the hangover from hell," Abi teased.

"You gonna nurse me back to health, babe?" Jay smirked.

"Yeah, in your dreams maybe," she scoffed.

"You're so mean to me," Jay sighed playfully.

"If I was _remotely_ mean to you, you'd be sleeping on the sofa right now," Abi argued with a smirk.

"You would never, you'd miss me keeping you warm too much," Jay protested, tightening his grip on her for added effect.

"Mm, you're right, I would," Abi replied, leaning up to give him a quick peck on the lips.

"Well, if I get my way, you'll have me keeping you warm every night for the rest of your life," Jay mused.

"If **_I_ ** get **_my_** way, I'll have Ryan Gosling keeping me warm every night…" she teased.

"Oi, he's nothing compared to me and you know it," Jay responded.

"Is that right?" Abi questioned teasingly.

"Mhmm," he mumbled in response.

"Well, I'll suppose you'll just have to do then" she replied with a smirk.

"Every night for the rest of your life?" Jay asked, echoing his previous statement.

"Every night for the rest of my life," she confirmed, knowing that he wouldn't remember any of this in the morning.

"Good," Jay breathed. "I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled.

Finally, everything was just the way it was suppose to be — and the way it always would be, no matter who else came along. It was always going to be Jay and Abi, always.

* * *

And that's the end of that! Thanks to everyone who's read this story, especially those of you who have followed, favourited and/or reviewed! I hope you've all enjoyed reading this short story as much as I've enjoyed reading it. I'll be back soon with another Jabi story, so stay tuned for that! In the meantime, don't forget to leave me one last review;) Thanks again! xo


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